I’m a total sucker for anything from Burger Records. It seems like every few weeks I can pop in and find a new awesome band. Their bread and butter (and what initially drew me to the label), tends to be a lot of self-referential punk and/or garage, so when I first heard The Garden, I was taken aback by the jarring earful of bass and drums.

Brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears manage an odd balance of murky, spastic, and mean. The vocals flux from convulsive to crooning, sometimes in the same song (most of which are under 60 seconds long).

It’s like if a minimalist David Byrne got into hardcore and surf… or something. The effect is jarring, but cool. Like, Karen O cool. Like, Bauhaus cool. Borderline too cool. I mean, I don’t look good in black and I’m not very good at “careless indolence” these days, but damn if it doesn’t get you in the mood to try!

They’ve got a few tracks up on YouTube, and are soon to release their second cassette on Burger, which I eagerly await.